IRS tax relief for the balance on the notice.

The notice names an amount and a date. Tax Next Step and a tax relief firm that serves your area may call about a plan, an offer, or a delay. Asking is free.

  • Asking is free. The form does not hire a firm.
  • The call comes from a private firm, not the IRS.
A couple standing at their kitchen counter, reading a letter together.

Request a call

Tell us where to reach you. A tax relief firm that serves your area may call about the balance on your notice.

Tax Next Step is an independent guide, not the IRS. Asking for a call does not hire a firm or change what you owe.

Where our facts come from

Checked against IRS guidance on October 27, 2026.

How it works

You send five fields. A tax relief firm that serves your area may call about the notice. Hiring anyone is still your decision.

  1. Send the form

    Your name, phone, email, state, and city go to one or more tax relief firms that serve your area. They do not go to the IRS.

  2. A firm may call

    Expect the notice number, a rough balance, and whether the returns are filed. The call is not a payment plan.

  3. You choose

    If the option fits the notice, you can hire that firm. If it does not, you can tell them to stop.

IRS tax relief, and who runs this guide

Who runs it

Tax Next Step runs this guide. Write to tabular_spout_3y@icloud.com. No CPA, enrolled agent, or tax attorney is named here, because none has signed these pages.

Email tabular_spout_3y@icloud.com.

What it is, and what it is not

The pages follow IRS payment-plan, offer, and notice pages. Tax Next Step is not the IRS, a law firm, or an accounting firm. The form is not a payment plan, and it does not promise the IRS will accept an offer.

How a call gets matched

You send your name, phone, email, state, and city. Tax Next Step and tax relief firms near you may call and text. You can tell them no. Asking is free.

When the balance will not fit this month

Interest starts after the due date on the notice, and the failure-to-pay penalty can reach 25 percent of the unpaid tax.

An older couple on a sofa at home, going through papers together.
  • A CP14, or a letter like it, is on the table

    A CP14 shows the amount the IRS says you owe and the date to pay by. Keep it nearby for the call.

  • You can pay some of it, not all at once

    A short-term plan of 180 days or less has no setup fee. Interest builds after the due date, and the late-payment penalty can reach 25 percent.

Relief the IRS already offers

Payment plan

How it works
You pay the full balance over time, in monthly payments or within a short window.
What it costs to start
Nothing for a short-term plan of 180 days or less. Long-term plans cost less online, and less or nothing for low-income applicants.
Worth knowing
Interest and penalties keep adding until the balance is paid, so a shorter plan costs less.
See the IRS fee table

Offer in compromise

How it works
You ask the IRS to accept less than the full amount you owe.
What it costs to start
A $205 application fee and a first payment, unless you meet the low-income qualifications.
Worth knowing
The IRS generally will not accept an offer below your reasonable collection potential.
Read the IRS offer page

Hardship delay

How it works
If paying now would cause a hardship, the IRS may delay collection until things improve.
What it costs to start
That IRS page does not list a fee. Call 800-829-1040 or the number on your notice.
Worth knowing
It is a delay. You still owe the full amount, and penalties and interest keep adding.
What a CP14 says

Have two facts ready when they call

You can send the form without either of these. The IRS also requires filed returns before it will consider a payment plan.

  • The notice number, and a rough total across the tax years on it
  • Whether the recent returns are filed
Hands holding a tax form over a desk with a calculator, a pen, and a cup of coffee.

Questions people ask before they send the form

Request a call
Is Tax Next Step part of the IRS?

No. This is an independent guide. The firm that calls you is a private tax relief company, and it is not the IRS either. The IRS phone number is the one printed on your notice.

Does it cost anything to ask for a call?

No. Asking is free. If you hire a firm later, its fee is between you and that firm, so ask on the call.

Can a firm promise the IRS will settle for less?

No one can promise that. The IRS decides every offer. In most cases it will not accept an offer below your reasonable collection potential.

What happens after I send the form?

A partner tax relief firm may call or text the number you entered. You can tell them to stop. The form never asks for a Social Security number.

Ask about the balance on the notice

Asking is free, and you decide what happens after the call.

Request a call